French Pronunciation: The Ultimate Guide (with free MP3)

French Pronunciation Guide: How to Pronounce French the Right Way

There's that charming sound to the spoken French language that everyone finds utterly delightful. How the words seem to melt together to form pleasant sounds and flowing melodic tones can be both enchanting and intimidating at the same time.

Enchanting enough for non-French people to strive to replicate its romantic-sounding inflections, but very intimidating when you listen to actual French people talk.

No need to get intimidated for long though. It seems like you're on the right track with learning how to speak French because this French pronunciation guide is solely focused on learning proper French pronunciation.

Whether you are beginning to learn the language or you only need to brush up on your intonation, this is the perfect tool and guide for you to refer to every once in a while.

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Quick tip

Don't be too hard on yourself when you can't fully grasp the pronunciation rules after a few hours of practice. It takes time to learn how to pronounce French words properly – months, in fact. Besides, it's extremely rare to see a foreigner with a 100% correct pronunciation.

Besides, does it really matter? France is a hugely multicultural country and the French people are quite familiar (and accepting!) with a wide range of accent. So don't beat yourself to a pulp, and just keep practising until you start to pull off French quite nicely.

The study method and guide presented below are targeted for English speakers, and it will help you grasp the pronunciation rules better. It could get tricky for newbie learners, but with regular practice in speaking and reading, you should be able to to do quite well soon enough.

Remember, you don't need to memorize these rules by heart, but by just referring to this page every once in a while, you'll get there in no time. So bookmark this page (or download the PDF) and study the guide as often as you'd like. It will be ingrained in your system before you know it.

So are you ready?

Here we go!

Part 1: The Stress (and why you shouldn't stress it out)

When compared to the English language, French has a more distinct sound and a flat intonation. The stress is mostly even except for the last syllable which is given a tad bit more of an emphasis. Check out this example where we will use the word IMPORTANT. Notice the difference in the stress between the two:

In English: im-POR-tant, while in French: ang-por-tahng

See the difference? Easy enough, right?

Part 2: How to Pronounce French Vowels

For the newbie French learner, the difference between a, à, and â as well as e, é, è, and ê canget head-swimmingly frustrating.But the truth is, it's not actually that complicated at all.

Here's a nifty guide for you to use so you could easily distinguish the pronunciation between the letters and all its mind-boggling accents or diacritical marks (or simply put, those little thingies on top of the letters).

Vowels

Pronunciation Guide

Example

What the example means

a

is pronounced like 'ah' in English

la

(the)

à

is also pronounced like 'ah

là

(there)

â

is pronounced like 'ah' but longer

âne

(donkey)

e

When placed in the middle of a syllable, it is pronounced like ai in 'fair'

mer

(sea)

e

When placed at the end of a syllable, it is pronounced like er in 'her'

le

(the)

e

is silent at the end of a word

tasse

(cup)

é

is pronounced like 'ay'

été

(summer)

è

is pronounced like ai in 'fair'

père

(father)

ê

is also pronounced like ai in 'fair'

tête

(head)

i, y

are pronounced like ee in 'meet'

ski

(skiing)

o

is pronounced like o in 'not'

poste

(post office)

ô

is pronounced like 'oh'

hôtel

(hotel)

u

this sound does not exist in English; say 'ee' with rounded lips

vu

(seen)

oi

is pronounced like 'wah'

roi

(king)

ou

is pronounced like 'oo'

roue

(wheel)

ai, ei

are pronounced like e in 'let'

laine

(wool)

au, eau

are pronounced like 'oh'

au

(to the)

eu, oeu

are pronounced like er in 'her'

neuf
soeur

(nine)
(sister)

Source: Hugo in 3 Months Beginner's Language Course

Quick Recap on French Vowel Sounds

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a and à are both pronounced like 'ah' in English. â is also like 'ah', except that it is longer.

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e when placed in the middle of a syllable is pronounced like 'ai' in fair, same as è and ê.

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The rule for pronouncing e: in the middle of a syllable --- 'ai' as in fair; at the end of a syllable, 'er' as in her; but when you see it at the end of a word, it is silent. (example: tasse)

Now we move to the consonants.

Part 3. All About French Consonant Sounds

Consonants in French are basically pronounced the same way as in English. But here are some rules for you to take note of, just to make things a little bit easier.

Consonants

Pronunciation Guide

Example

What the example means

c

before e or i sounds like s

ceci

(this)

c

elsewhere it sounds like k

car

(coach)

ç

sounds like s

ça

(that)

ch

sounds like 'sh'

château

(castle)

g

before e or i sounds like s in 'measure'

général

(general)

g

elsewhere sounds like g in 'go'

gare

(station)

h

is silent

hôtel

(hotel)

j

sounds like s in ‘measure'

je

(l)

qu, q

sound like k

qui

(who)

r

is pronounced at the back of the throat; it is quite similar to the sound we make
when are gargling.

rire

(to laugh)

s

at the beginning of a word sounds like s

salle

(room)

s

between two vowels, it sounds like z

rose

(rose)

Source: Hugo in 3 Months Beginner's Language Course

Here's an important thing for you to note:

Except for these letters: c, f, l, and r, consonants are usually not pronounced when it is the last letter of the word. Take for example the silent last letters in the following words:

passpor(t) and Pari(s)

On the other hand, l and r are pronounced such as in the following:

hotel and professeur

Just remember the letters using this mnemonic or memory aid: Clear French Language Recall or CFLR. (See, told you this is easy!)

Part 4. What Are French Nasal Sounds?

Ask any non-French speaker and they'll usually describe the French language as being a bit nasal. These nasal sounds are quite distinctive of the French language and are characterized by the following:

It is produced by blocking air from leaving the mouth and released instead through the nose.

These sounds are 'voiced' which means the vocal cords vibrate to create the sound.

Sounds difficult? Not actually. In fact, the English language has three nasal sounds too, namely the m sound, the n sound, and the ng sound. And we are using these to speak flawlessly (or not!) everyday.

Try saying the wordssing, sang, song and sungand notice the following:

the letter g is given very little value in the standard pronunciation, and

as you pronounce the words, air is blocked when the back of your tongue presses against the soft palate.

French has four nasal sounds which are more similar to its English counterparts than we realize.

These are the following:

Nasal sound

Pronunciation

Example

What the Example Means

om, on

pronounce like ong in 'song'

nom
non

(name)
(no)

um*, un

pronounce like ung in 'sung'

un
brun

(one)
(brown)

am, an
em,en

pronounce like 'ahng'

champ
an
temps
en

(field)
(year)
(time)
(in)

im*,
in, aim,
ain, ein

pronounce like ang in 'sang'

simple
vin
faim
bain
plein

(easy)
(wine)
(hunger)
(bath)
(full)

ien

pronounce like 'ee-ang’

bien

(well)

We mentioned that there are four nasal French sounds but you must be wondering why there are five listed. This is because some French speakers do not make distinctions between um* and im* and both are being pronounced as 'ang' like we do in sang.

Part 5. The French Variations

Now read up carefully because this here is where non-French speakers often get in trouble. Listed below are some pronunciations for syllables that, when spoken, differ quite well from how it is spoken in English.

Syllable

Pronunciation

Example

What the Example Means

er

at the end of a word of two syllables or more sounds like 'ay'

parler

(to speak)

ez

at the end of a word sounds like 'ay'

nez

(nose)

ail

at the end of a word sounds like ‘ah'ee'

travail

(work)

eil, eille

sound like 'a'ee'

soleil
bouteille

(sun)
(bouteille)

ill

usually sounds like 'ee'y'

billet

(ticket)

gn

sounds like ni in 'onion'

signal

(signal

Source: Hugo in 3 Months Beginner's Language Course

Quick Recap on French Variations

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er (when at the end of a word with two or more syllables) and ez are both pronounced like 'ay'

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As an exception to the C,F,L,R consonants pronunciation rule presented earlier, L when used in the syllables ail and eil, are generally silent.

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For sure you're quite familiar with the gn sound already. Especially if you're the lasagna-eating type.

Part 6. Those Flowing, Connected Sounds and How It's Done

We are all quite aware that the French language sounds flowing and continuous, or to put it jokingly, like speaking in cursive. This lends itself a lot of charm and that very noticeable melodic sound that foreigners simply love.

To get this delightfully melodious sound in intonation, here's a simple rule for you to remember:

If a word that begins with a vowel or a silent H follows a word which ends in a consonant, the consonant is linked to the beginning of the second word.

Simply stated, IF:

1st word --- ends in a consonant

2nd word --- begins with a vowel or silent H

Result: the consonant in the end of the first word is automatically linked to the beginning vowel of the second word.

To illustrate, let us make use of these examples:

nous avons – the 1st word ends with the consonant s while the 2nd word begins with a vowel.

To pronounce it: noo zah-vong (meaning, we have)

un petit enfant – petit ends with a consonant while enfant begins with a vowel.

To pronounce it: ung p'tee tahng-fahng (meaning, a small child)

A few guidelines to remember when using other letter combinations;

Letters

Sound

Example

Pronunciation

What the example means

s, x

sounds like z

deux ans

der zahng

two years

d

sounds like t

un grand arbre

ung grahng tahbr

a tall tree

f

sounds like v

neuf heures

ner verr

nine hours

Source: Hugo in 3 Months Beginner's Language Course

Part 7. Accent Marks (and the difference it makes)

Just like several other languages, French makes use of accent marks. Accents are a type of diacritic marks which are basically glyphs or small signs attached to a letter. These are commonly used in Latin-derived alphabets as well as non-Latin ones like Chinese, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Korean and others.

French makes use of three main accents, and these are:

the acute accent (é) or l'accent aigu which can be found in the letter e.

the grave accent (è) or l'accent grave which can be found in the letters a, e, and u; and

the circumflex(ê) or l'accent circonflexe which can be found in any vowel.

In addition, there is also the cedilla (ç) or la cédille which can be found only underneath the letter c; and the diaeresis (ë) or le tréma which is often used to indicate that the second vowel is to be pronounced separately from the first (e.g. naïf—naive and noël --- Christmas).

So what are accent marks for--what do they do?

Here are their uses:

1. They are used to change how a letter sounds.

Let's take for example the letter e.

The unaccented e – sounds like er in 'her'

The é acute sounds like ay in 'say'

The è grave sounds like ai in 'fair'

For the cedilla, remember the rule discussed earlier wherein c is only pronounced as a soft s when placed before an e or i? The cedilla totally changes that.

Take for example the word garçon (which means boy). It precedes an o which means it should be pronounced as a hard c as in 'car', but the cedilla softens the letter to make it sound like s as in 'sit'.

2. Accent marks are used to differentiate between similarly spelled words which have different meanings.

Examples:

la (the) versus là(there)

ou (or) versus où (where)

sur (on) versus sûr (sure)

There's something very interesting about the accents though. In modern usage, French accents usually do not appear in capital letters because it is already deemed unnecessary. The Académie Française, however, maintains that it should be used at all times in order to avoid confusion.

Part 8: French and English Similarities in Pronunciation

Contrary to popular belief, there isn't really a huge gaping difference between English and French pronunciation. In fact, most syllables are pronounced as though they are a part of an English word and are each given an equal stress.

But do take note of the following while reading the examples shown in this guide:

ng (italics) must never be pronounced; these letters merely indicate that the preceding vowel has a nasal sound.

er (r italics) do not pronounce the r; this syllable sounds like er in 'her'.

zh sounds like s in 'measure’.

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ü no equivalent in English; round your lips and say 'ee'.

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o sounds like o in 'not'.

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oh sounds like o in 'note'.

Part 9: The French Alphabet Sounds

The French Alphabet also contains 26 letters of the ISO basic Latin-script alphabet (or simply, the alphabet as we know it). It is basically similar to that of the English alphabet except for K and W which aren't always used. The pronunciation is also a bit different.

So just in case you are planning to visit France soon, then you might want to practice spelling out your name should the French-speaking receptionist (or other people essential to your travel) require it. Spelling it out in French would make a lot more sense to them than the English phonetics.

Here's a little example.

If your name is JANEY, it is spelled out as 'zheel – ah -- en – er – ee-grek'.

Here is the rest of the French alphabet as well as their pronunciation:

A (ah) H (ahsh) O (oh) V (vay)

B (bay) I (ee) P (pay) W (doobl-vay)

C (say) J (zheel) Q (kü) X (eeks)

D (day) K (kah) R(airr) Y (ee-grek)

E (er) L (el) S (ess) Z (zed)

F (ef) M (em) T (tay)

G (zhay) N (en) U (ü)

Try to practice saying these pronunciations as often as you can as this would help you in your further learning. Remember, just like any other skill, all it takes is determination and consistency for you to develop the habit.

Being exposed to a lot of French language in movies, videos, and even audio books can help you familiarize with the words and sounds, and make it easier to learn them.

Here are some related articles that might help you with your pronunciation practice.

These French short stories with slow and normal speed audio will also help you improve your French pronunciation:

Before we end this pronunciation guide, here are a few videos for you to check out. Never mind that some of the pronunciations are not 100% French, the important thing is that you are able to listen and compare it with your recent learnings.

Frederic Bibard is the founder of Talk in French, a company that helps french learners to practice and improve their french. Macaron addict. Jacques Audiard fan. You can contact him on Twitter and Google +